Vincent Wilberforce Baddeley was born on 24 September 1874. He was educated at Marlborough College and Pembroke College, Oxford. In 1897, he was appointed clerk in the War Office, later transferring to the secretariat of the Admiralty two years later. Between 1901 and 1911, Baddeley served as private secretary to successive First Lords of the Admiralty, later advancing through the Admiralty to the position of First Principal Assistant secretary (1921-1931) and Deputy Secretary of the Admiralty (1931-1935). He was knighted in 1921. From 1935 until 1953, he served as company director of the Alliance Assurance Company and as Prime Warden of the Fishmongers' Company between 1936 and 1937. He died on 25 July 1961.
From the guide to the Vincent Baddeley collection, 1932, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
